The heat is on scandalized Arthur Andersen, and the Big Five accounting giant is scrambling to keep its tony clients and best employees in the fold.

To manage the public relations nightmare, Chief Exec Joseph Berardino began running full-page advertisements in some New York papers.

The open letter from Berardino outlines Andersen’s actions in the days since the firm admitted destroying crucial documents related to its Enron audits.

Andersen said it has recovered some of the documents deleted electronically, fired the partner in charge of the Enron audits and dismissed four others while relieving management duties to four others based in its Houston office.

While the Berardino says in the ad that “Andersen will announce comprehensive changes in our practices and policies,” spokespeople at the firm declined to comment on what those changes would be.

“We are committed to making specific changes to restore public confidence,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for Andersen, said in an interview.

Sources at the firm said the letter will run in other U.S. cities and potentially in other countries. A spokesman would not reveal any further developments in the p.r. campaign. While the ad may assist in wiping some of the mud off Andersen’s corporate face, there is still damage control to be done to keep clients from walking away.

“There has been a firestorm of bad publicity. There are only so many firms that can handle big clients. Anyone considering switching would probably take a step back and reconsider whether Arthur Andersen is the one,” said Warren Schneider, principal of Forensic Accounting Group.

Top clients at Andersen include Colgate-Palmolive, General Motors, Cendant Corp., Compaq, Ducati Motors and News Corp., which owns The Post.